Game Title: Boo! Greedy kid
Developer – Flying Oak Games
Platform Reviewed: PC (Steam)
The premise of Boo! Greedy Kid (BGK) is a simple one, you are a small child dashing and rolling your way around various (what appear to be) retirement homes in a bid to literally frighten money out of the pockets of the elderly so that you can buy sugary drinks to quaff at your leisure.
It’s a very straightforward setup that works very well in small doses which made me feel like it would probably be best suited as a game to be played on a handheld device to get the most out of it.
Whilst I enjoyed the game for a while, I did find myself tiring of the formula and especially the music.
The premise of Boo! Greedy Kid (BGK) is a simple one, you are a small child dashing and rolling your way around various (what appear to be) retirement homes in a bid to literally frighten money out of the pockets of the elderly so that you can buy sugary drinks to quaff at your leisure.
It’s a very straightforward setup that works very well in small doses which made me feel like it would probably be best suited as a game to be played on a handheld device to get the most out of it.
Whilst I enjoyed the game for a while, I did find myself tiring of the formula and especially the music.
The game is split into a hundred levels, most of which can be completed in under a minute or so and speed is definitely the name of the game here with the three stars being awarded for the swiftest of players.
The game is very fluid and although there is the ability to hide underneath tables and cupboards to avoid enemies and get away from people chasing you, these aren’t really needed until thirty or forty levels into the game as your ‘roll’ button gives you a brief blast of invincibility and so can be utilised as a way of getting past enemies without taking damage.
You have three hit points which are replenished after each level, although I found myself dying rarely as I adjusted to the rhythm and made progress very easily.
As your un-named brat screams and moons at old ladies (yes, there’s a button to get your bum out) the staff and security present will try to stop you. Doctors and nurses can assist people that you’ve frightened by frantically pumping their chest to bring them back to life and security guards can’t be scared by you sneaking up and screaming at them so need to be avoided at all costs, especially the ones that fire Tasers at you, the sausages.
The game is very fluid and although there is the ability to hide underneath tables and cupboards to avoid enemies and get away from people chasing you, these aren’t really needed until thirty or forty levels into the game as your ‘roll’ button gives you a brief blast of invincibility and so can be utilised as a way of getting past enemies without taking damage.
You have three hit points which are replenished after each level, although I found myself dying rarely as I adjusted to the rhythm and made progress very easily.
As your un-named brat screams and moons at old ladies (yes, there’s a button to get your bum out) the staff and security present will try to stop you. Doctors and nurses can assist people that you’ve frightened by frantically pumping their chest to bring them back to life and security guards can’t be scared by you sneaking up and screaming at them so need to be avoided at all costs, especially the ones that fire Tasers at you, the sausages.
On the subject of screaming (my third album), the game allows you to plug in a microphone and use your own voice to frighten people in the game, but as I don’t have a microphone it was something that I sadly couldn’t try out. Whilst I can imagine it would be a fun novelty for a while, shouting into a microphone every few seconds would soon become tedious and you’d revert to the normal control scheme.
That said, I would rather listen to someone shouting than have to put up with the music in BGK. It’s a short, oppressive loop that reminded me of the crack screens on the Amiga. For a couple of minutes it’s fine but as it doesn’t change at all and is so brief, it gets tiresome very, very quickly. The music is easily the games’ weakest point and is a shame because there are some nice comedic graphical touches and the game moves at a solid pace with level restarts happening instantly and new challenges being introduced every few levels.
The graphics in the game are reminiscent of the 16-bit era and the way you can move through the 2D screens via coloured doors that open up on other sections of the screen (and can be used to escape chasing enemies) had a touch of Elevator Action about it. The general animations also add brevity to the game and a further sense of fun.
Summary
At its current price point of £4, Boo! Greedy Kid is a solid little puzzler with a wicked sense of style and humour, it’s not a particularly deep game and probably not one anyone will sit down and have a good session on for any length of time but for a few minutes’ blast of fun, it works very well.
It’s this aspect that makes me feel it would be a better fit for the Switch or mobile devices as it’s so fast-paced and easy to pick up and play.
The game doesn’t really ramp up the challenge until a good chunk of the way in and there isn’t much in the way of variation as it sticks so rigidly to the formula set out at the start of the game so this is one for more casual fans of single-screen puzzlers as opposed to those who enjoy more cerebral brain-teasers.
I mean, it is running around showing people your arse and scaring them to death so you can nick their money to buy Tizer, after all.
That said, I would rather listen to someone shouting than have to put up with the music in BGK. It’s a short, oppressive loop that reminded me of the crack screens on the Amiga. For a couple of minutes it’s fine but as it doesn’t change at all and is so brief, it gets tiresome very, very quickly. The music is easily the games’ weakest point and is a shame because there are some nice comedic graphical touches and the game moves at a solid pace with level restarts happening instantly and new challenges being introduced every few levels.
The graphics in the game are reminiscent of the 16-bit era and the way you can move through the 2D screens via coloured doors that open up on other sections of the screen (and can be used to escape chasing enemies) had a touch of Elevator Action about it. The general animations also add brevity to the game and a further sense of fun.
Summary
At its current price point of £4, Boo! Greedy Kid is a solid little puzzler with a wicked sense of style and humour, it’s not a particularly deep game and probably not one anyone will sit down and have a good session on for any length of time but for a few minutes’ blast of fun, it works very well.
It’s this aspect that makes me feel it would be a better fit for the Switch or mobile devices as it’s so fast-paced and easy to pick up and play.
The game doesn’t really ramp up the challenge until a good chunk of the way in and there isn’t much in the way of variation as it sticks so rigidly to the formula set out at the start of the game so this is one for more casual fans of single-screen puzzlers as opposed to those who enjoy more cerebral brain-teasers.
I mean, it is running around showing people your arse and scaring them to death so you can nick their money to buy Tizer, after all.
Right, I’m off to clean my teeth.
💧❄️ RATING: MELTING ❄️💧
Ratings Explained
ICE COOL (Great Game Recommended)
MELTING (Recommended with reservations, one to consider if you are a fan of the genre)
MELTED (Not A Recommended Purchase)
Review By Britt
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